Danny Healy-Rae warns of homecare collapse and Fair Deal harms
Danny Healy-Rae thanked Michael Collins and his group and supported the motion, speaking about shortages in home help in Kerry, unused elderly beds, and the Fair Deal's impact on farming families. He argued that elderly people should be cared for at home where possible, called for abolition of the means test for carers and urged ministers to reopen beds and tackle staffing shortfalls.
He said people in Kerry can qualify for home help or a home care package but often no one arrives because there are not enough staff. He urged the government to be more inventive in ensuring workers are available, arguing that proper homecare would save the State money.
He supported a new TD who raised concerns about the Fair Deal assessments on farms, saying the scheme can wipe out the value of a farm before an ill person passes away. He called for the Fair Deal arrangements affecting the farming community to be reviewed.
He highlighted a renovated elderly hospital that has not been used for four years due to lack of staff, and pressed for the four beds there to be reopened. He said Karsavine is very far for many local people and that access to nearby towns like Kalani, Tralee or Lysdol leaves patients isolated.
He said abolishing the means test for carers is included in the programme for government and argued it must be implemented because it is unfair. He framed the change as necessary to support carers and protect family assets.
He appealed directly to ministers to prioritise elderly care, stressing that elderly people deserve to be looked after in their own homes as long as possible and that society must repay their contribution. He closed by urging urgent action on staffing, beds and policy reform.
Home care shortage in Kerry
He said people in Kerry can qualify for home help or a home care package but often no one arrives because there are not enough staff. He urged the government to be more inventive in ensuring workers are available, arguing that proper homecare would save the State money.
Fair Deal concerns for farmers
He supported a new TD who raised concerns about the Fair Deal assessments on farms, saying the scheme can wipe out the value of a farm before an ill person passes away. He called for the Fair Deal arrangements affecting the farming community to be reviewed.
Unused local elderly beds
He highlighted a renovated elderly hospital that has not been used for four years due to lack of staff, and pressed for the four beds there to be reopened. He said Karsavine is very far for many local people and that access to nearby towns like Kalani, Tralee or Lysdol leaves patients isolated.
Means test and carers
He said abolishing the means test for carers is included in the programme for government and argued it must be implemented because it is unfair. He framed the change as necessary to support carers and protect family assets.
Appeal to ministers to act
He appealed directly to ministers to prioritise elderly care, stressing that elderly people deserve to be looked after in their own homes as long as possible and that society must repay their contribution. He closed by urging urgent action on staffing, beds and policy reform.
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Transcript
Thank you very much and I want to thank Michael Collins and his group for giving us the chance to talk about this very worthy motion here this morning and I support everything that has been said and first of all I want to say that it should be everyone's ambition that they be left in their home, every politician's ambition that elderly people should be kept and seen after in their home for as long as possible. That's not happening in Kerry because at the present time you can be qualified for to get home help or to get a home care package but no one arrives because they don't have the people to do the home help and that's very serious and I'm sure the government could be more inventive in ensuring that people are available to do this very worthy work which would save the state an awful lot of money. I want to especially concord with that new TD over here that I don't know but I want to thank him for raising the issue about the fair deal as far as the farming community is concerned and I've often said before that the fair deal for farmers when it comes to assessing people's farms and the conditions that have been placed even with the new fair deal scheme for farmers and it has to be reviewed and looked at because like the man said there the fair deal can be wiped out the value of the fair deal can be wiped out before before the person that's sick passes on or something like that happens so that's very unfair and it has to be the fair deal should only should not be assessed and then we have a situation where there's a hospital for elderly people and there's a lot of elderly people and they were done up and revamped and everything but they haven't been used for the last four years Minister because there's no staff to staff them and that the Karsavine is very far away and if you get sick and leave a rap peninsula Karsavine is the nearest place to you and you're miles away from Kalani or Tralee or Lysdol or any other way and that has to be seen after and those four beds reopened again I say the means test this is one of the things that we ensured is in the program for government that it has to be abolished for carers because it's not fair am I all right yet? no your time's up you're two and a half minutes gone all right well I'm appealing to ministers to see after the elderly people because they brought us to where we are and they fought for for for for to ensure that Ireland was a better place and they did their best and we must see after them and we're not doing it thank you Deputy Deputy Deputy